Stir-Fry-Crazy

Confession: until recently, I had no idea how to stir-fry.  You'd think it be simple, what with the primary instructions being right there in the name, but I had no idea what to do.  My family never make it growing up, so I had no experience making it.  I'm fairly adventurous in my cooking as an adult, but somehow stir-fry never made it into my repertoire.

Thankfully, I have finally figured out how to make stir-fry this year, through a helpful combination of watching Alan make it and researching recipe variations.  It turns out, my main barrier to stir-fry was that I very much prefer to follow recipes, but stir-fry is more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants "What do I have in the fridge" type of cooking experience.  What has finally pushed me over the edge into more confident stir-fry territory is trial and error combined with the impetus to figure out what to do with all of the delicious CSA box veggies that Alan and I receive every two weeks.

The one thing I haven't figured out yet is how to fry tofu.  Any advice from more experienced folks out there?  I can't get it crispy!  I suspect part of the issue is that my pans all heat rather unevenly, but surely there's some trick I'm missing.

What are your favorite things to stir-fry together?  I'd love some recipes to try!  For example, here's the stir-fry I made tonight, inspired by my CSA box.  I really liked the leeks--they're so sweet, and yet give it that onion-y flavor.

CSA Stir-Fry

Ingredients
1/2 block extra firm tofu, in 1/4-inch slices
4 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 leek, chopped
5 small carrots, chopped
1 broccoli head, chopped
2 baby bok choy, chopped (separate stems and leaves)
2 tsp. minced garlic
Ground ginger, to taste
Chili powder, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. soy sauce

Instructions

1. Slice tofu into 1/4-inch slices and fry in 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil, 3-5 minutes on each side on medium heat.  Remove from pan.  Or, seriously, talk to someone else about how to do this more successfully, and then let me know what you find out.

2. Add 2 more tbsp. of vegetable oil and toss in sliced leeks (1/4-inch should do) and garlic.  Fry for a couple of minutes over medium-high heat.

3. Add carrots, broccoli, and bok choy stems, all chopped into bite-size pieces.  Season with ginger and chili powder and fry for 3 minutes (until it begins to lose its crispiness).

4. Add bok choy leaves and 1/2 cup of water.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until water has evaporated and veggies are tender.

5. Add the tofu back to the pan, along with soy sauce.  Add black pepper to taste, and serve with rice.

In conclusion, look at my adorable squirrel rice scoop!

San Francisco Living: A Year in Review

Fact: I still have two boxes I have yet to unpack.

I moved into my apartment a year ago today.

It's funny that I ended up living in the city, because I never aspired to move to San Francisco.  Really, I just wanted to shorten my commute.

With all the recent reports of the extremely high cost of rent in San Francisco, I count myself lucky to be paying significantly under market price for a studio, even one in the Tenderloin.  I saw a posting for a different studio in my building on Craigslist last month, and it was listed as $400 more than I'm paying.  Good grief!  I'm also thankful that my building is rent controlled, so I only experienced a 1.9% increase in rent this year.

Technically, I live in the Tenderloin, but I really consider myself Tenderloin adjacent.  There are definitely areas a block or two away that I wouldn't want to walk alone, but the areas I frequent are safe.  I'm right next door to a hostel, so there are always folks around, which makes me feel even safer.  I haven't experienced a single incident since I moved to the city, knock on wood.

My other concern as I moved into my apartment was the size.  Best I can figure, my studio is about 300 square feet, I took measurements, and my studio is 267 square feet, which is quite small, especially since some of that space is a hallway.

Probably my least favorite thing about my apartment is my kitchen, which is tiny.  I have 10 inches of counter space, which I tripled by squeezing in a tiny IKEA cart.  I was terrified of my oven for most of the past year, because I repeatedly burned things and set off my smoke alarm.  However, I finally invested in an oven thermometer, and discovered that my oven runs 75 to 100 degrees hot, which is extreme!  So, now I have learned to set things 100 degrees below, and can bake without fear.

I don’t feel like I’ve done a very good job of taking advantage of living in San Francisco.  There are so many neighborhoods that I have yet to explore.  I should really put together a to-do list like I had for D.C., and try to check things off.

I doubt I’ll stay in San Francisco forever.  It’s extraordinarily expensive, and I miss what less urban areas have to offer in terms of greenery, safety, and convenience.  On the other hand, I do love having access to ample public transportation (as compared to the suburbs), incredibly diverse food, and a fascinating collection of passionate, young people.

Anyone have any suggestions as I begin to compile an SF to-do list?

In Which I Quote Christian Stuff at You

Chris and I have been reading some good things lately for our weekly Catholic chat via Skype.

The Problem of Pain

During the month of October, we read The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis.  I've always loved C.S. Lewis, from my childhood readings of the classic Chronicles of Narnia to my later explorations of his Christian writings such as Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters.  Lewis does such a wonderful job of presenting arguments with clear examples that shed light on difficult concepts.

In the first chapter, I enjoy Lewis's treatment of the question often raised--if God is good, then why doesn't he make everyone perfectly happy?  Either He isn't good, or he lacks the power to make everyone happy, or perhaps both.  Lewis makes a very elaborate argument about suffering being a necessary element of a world that also contains free will, which I will not attempt to summarize here.  But, I did want to share this quote:

Meaningless combinations of words do not suddenly acquire meaning simply because we prefix them to the other words 'God can'.  It remains true that all things are possible with God: the intrinsic impossibilities are not things but nonentitites.  It is no more possible for God than for the weakest of His creatures to carry out both of two mutually exclusive alternatives; not because His power meets an obstacle, but because nonsense remains nonsense even when we talk it about God.

Mm, logic.

I also loved this quote:

When we want to be something other than the thing God wants us to be, we must be wanting what, in fact, will not make us happy.

I was rather surprised that one of the chapters was on Animal Pain, which struck me as a bit incongruous with the flow of the book in general.  He argues that animals are sentient but lack selfhood in a way that supports immortal souls.  However, along the way, he rejects other, weaker arguments against the immortality of animals.  My favorite is this:

Nor am I greatly moved by jocular inquiries such as 'Where will you put all the mosquitoes?'--a question to be answered on its own level by pointing out that, if the worst came to the worst, a heaven for mosquitoes and a hell for men could very conveniently be combined.

Ha!  True that.

Pope Francis

Chris and I are about to start St. Bonaventure's The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi, followed by Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales.  However, we took a week off from our longer readings to explore the America Magazine interview with Pope Francis.  There were a number of wonderful things said during the interview, and I would encourage everyone to read it.  I particularly enjoyed his emphasis that he is a sinner, that he practices discernment in all things, that he sees holiness in patience, and that uncertainty in discernment is leaving room for the Lord.

There was one part of the interview that has been quoted repeatedly by the media, around the idea of focusing less on divisive issues such as gay marriage and abortion.  I was excited about this from the first moment I read it, but all the more so in reading it in the context of a discussion of the Church as a field hospital for the world:

We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time. 

 The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently. Proclamation in a missionary style focuses on the essentials, on the necessary things: this is also what fascinates and attracts more, what makes the heart burn, as it did for the disciples at Emmaus. We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel. The proposal of the Gospel must be more simple, profound, radiant. It is from this proposition that the moral consequences then flow.

I love this idea that we should focus on sharing a "simple, profound, radiant" Gospel, and everything else will fall into place. I have found Pope Francis's emphasis on simplicity and the preferential option for the poor to be extremely heartening, and cannot wait to see what his papacy holds for the world.

Have you read anything inspirational lately?

Mrs. Boucher's Snickerdoodles

Alan brilliantly suggested baking cookies this weekend.  When he asked what my favorite cookies are, I immediately responded, "Snickerdoodles!"  My family has an old recipe for them that we've been using since my dad's childhood, when he got the recipe from his kind neighbor, Mrs. Boucher.  She had him start to write out the recipe in his child's handwriting, and then helped him out to write the rest of the directions.  I love that my mom still pulls out the soft, worn, ripped sheets of paper to reference the recipe.

So, when Alan and I decided that we were going to make snickerdoodles, I immediate texted my mom to ask for the recipe, because no other would do!  We were entertained that my iPhone wanted to autocorrect to "snicker doodles," which we imagined to be excessive chortling while drawing.

I love cooking and baking with Alan, because we somehow always manage to break down laughing over something silly, and the results are always tasty.  This was a particularly exciting baking experience because we got to use his fancy stand mixer--so jealous!

I was pleased with how our snickerdoodles turned out, just as good as the ones from my childhood (and, my father's childhood).  We had to experiment with the baking time a little to get the chewiness just right--too much, and they get crunchy; too little, and they are still doughy inside.  Then again, I'm a little picky about cookie consistency, tending to prefer cookies on the chewy/doughy side.

I hope you try out this recipe!  The cinnamon will make your kitchen smell decidedly autumnal.  Mrs. Boucher's recipe requires no alterations, but some clarifications of my own are included in parentheses.

Snickerdoodles for Dale from Mrs. Boucher

Mix together thoroughly...
1 C. soft shortening
1 1/2 C. sugar
2 eggs

Sift together and stir in...
2 3/4 C. sifted flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. (baking) soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Chill dough (1 hour).

Roll into balls the size of small walnuts (1-2 tbsp., depending on how big a cookie you prefer).

Roll in mixture of 2 tbsp. sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon. (Trader Joe's organic sugar is a little too coarse for this; you'd be better off with a more finely granulated sugar to get it to stick well.)

Bake 2 inches apart on an ungreased sheet.  Bake till lightly brown but still soft.

400° - 8-10 minutes - 5 dozen snickerdoodles.

Uxorious

My office recently started up a book club, which is awesome, even if that means I'm somehow in three book clubs.  (Oops.)  We're currently reading Wolf Hall, which is about Thomas Cromwell. So far, I'm not a huge fan of the writing style--historical fiction in present tense is a bit silly--but, I'll withhold further judgment until I have finished the book.

In reading the book, I learned a new word: uxorious. It means excessive fondness for one's wife. Naturally, I turned to Google to find out what the comparable word is for excessive fondness for one's husband.

First, I learned that the top autocomplete when you type "excessive" is "burping," which is amusing. WebMD is very reassuring that burping, like flatulence, is natural, if a bit uncomfortable or embarrassing at times.  However, I've read Mary Roach's Gulp, so I am privy* to the many ways in which gas can go terribly wrong.

More to the point, however, I learned that while "uxorious" is a relatively common word, the equivalent for excessive fondness for one's husband, "maritorious," is exceedingly rare. That says to me that, at least historically, our society believes a wife's love is almost never "too much," whereas a husband can love his wife too much.  That's lame. I think we should stick to a gender- and relationship-neutral version of this word--"obsequious" comes to mind--because love for one's partner, by a man or a woman, should not be immediately implicated as a sign of weakness.

My diatribe is probably unnecessary, as "uxorious" seems to have fallen out of contemporary usage, likely for the same reasons as those I have raised.  That being said, my spell checker tells me that "uxorious" is a word, but "maritorious" is not.  Stop being so gender normative, spell check!

-----
* Pun intended, of course.

Check It Out

I recently dusted off my embroidery supplies to make a delightfully nerdy little birthday present for my favorite bibliophile, Morgan:

It was fairly easy to do.  I googled "library book card pocket" for some inspiration, and determined that--aside from the lettering--this project would simply involve a lot of straight lines using the trusty back stitch.

I sketched out the design on paper to get the spacing right, and then lightly drew the design on the fabric itself.  I ended up just winging it on the letters for the most part.  I'm not a huge fan of how the "C" turned out, and would probably try to make it less angular next time.

This was my first time making something meant to stay in the embroidery hoop to be hung on the wall.  I used some fabric glue to try to glue down the fabric in back, which sort of worked.  I think next time I'd cut a bigger piece of fabric so I had more to work with in folding it down.

Spending a morning watching Star Trek: The Next Generation and embroidering reminded me how much I enjoy this craft.  It's very satisfying to make something physically tangible, especially since I spend most of my time thinking, reading, and writing on the computer.  Now, I need to finish the somewhat ambitious squirrel cross stitch tote bag I've been working on for my mom forever!

Bioshock Infinite: My Initial Reaction

Earlier this summer, Alissa was over for dinner at my place, and started telling me about an awesome new game she was playing, Bioshock Infinite.  She showed me the beginning of a walkthrough of the game on YouTube, and it seemed like a really interesting premise.  Here's a trailer for the game:



However, having no gaming console of my own, I wasn't able to even entertain the notion of playing the game.  Fast forward to last week, when one of my favorite Apple blogs, TUAW, posted news of Bioshock Infinite being released for Mac, touting it as the game of the year.  Only then did I begin to seriously consider playing the game.

You see, I haven't played a video game in quite some time.  Sure, I've dabbled on the Wii here and there at parties, but my last serious foray into gaming of any sort was probably The Sims in high school.  And, of the games I've played, most of them were Nintendo, in the Mario universe...  No blood and gore in Paper Mario, the last RPG I played from start to finish (on my family's trusty old N64, good times).

So, the idea of playing a first-person shooter was a real departure from the norm for me.  And, this one is definitely graphically violent, as I had seen from the beginning of the walkthrough.  But, the game's story was too fascinating to pass up.  As TUAW explains:

You play as Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt, who is sent to the floating city of Columbia to find a mysterious woman named Elizabeth who has quantum powers. Though the city of Columbia floats in the sky, the game takes place in 1912. Yet many critics have noted that the themes in the game reflect the political, religious, plutocratic and populist divides in America running up to the 2012 elections.

See?  Fascinating.  When was the last time you heard about a video game that employs history and politics in this way?

Still not 100% convinced I should spend $40 on something that was so far afield from how I typically spend my free time, I asked for some feedback from friends on Facebook.  The response was overwhelming--a ton of very passionate comments that I simply must play this game!  Emboldened by the feedback, and always looking for a good excuse to strengthen my nerd cred, I decided to give it a whirl.

Tonight was my third night playing the game, and it is awesome.  I'm playing on easy mode, because I have no idea how to play a FPS, but the game is kindly teaching me what I need to know.  The first two nights, I played using my mouse and keyboard, but I was finding it a bit difficult to handle.  So, I bought myself a used Xbox 360 wired gamepad, downloaded a driver, and was much happier with the gameplay this evening.  If you go this route, I recommend playing with the controller from the beginning, because it was complicated to get used to new buttons and sensitivities for everything after figuring out the gameplay with mouse and keyboard.  Seriously, I had to draw myself a cheat sheet:

I'm slowly but surely getting better at playing the game.  At first, it was just a matter of exploring the city and collecting things, but then the game forces you to make a choice, and that choice had consequences.  Weapons and enemies have been acquired, along with vigors (magic-like abilities), and goals.  I get really tense whenever I enter a room, because I'm anxious about what I might face on the other side, but I'm starting to realize that the repercussions for dying aren't all that dire in easy mode (you lose a bit of money, and your enemies regain some health).  Pragmatic planner that I am, there's something oddly freeing about diving in headlong into a situation over which I have little control, and just going for it.

I haven't met Elizabeth yet, whom I understand to be critical to the game, so I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on the game once I reach that point.  But for now, a few hours into the game, I can at least say that I'm really glad I purchased it, and can definitely see what all the fuss is about.

Noted

The Monday before last, on my way out the door, I grabbed a box of granola bars I'd been meaning to take to work.  I quickly shoved the box in my bag and hurried out the door to face the large number of phone calls I had stacked up for the day.  When I got to work, I pulled the box out of my bag, and discovered this:

 Unbeknownst to me, Alan had left an adorable, punny note on my granola bars because I had mentioned that I was bringing them to work!  Brimming with happiness, I texted Alan to thank him, and this was his response:

And that, dear friends, is how I discovered that my apartment was chock full of these little notes.

Resisting the strong urge to run home and tear my apartment apart searching for them, I instead feverishly brainstormed increasingly improbable potential hiding places.  The kitchen cupboards?  The cookie jar?  Inside a book?  Under the rug?  On Alibi?

By the time I got home, I had remembered that my K-cups had seemed slightly askew when I brewed some coffee that morning.  At the time, I had chalked it up to Alibi playing with them, as she sometimes does, but by then I knew better.  Sure enough, when I pushed the K-cups aside:

Invigorated by my discovery, I conducted a search of my apartment, but couldn't find any more!  Alan was diabolical, and the thought of undiscovered notes was driving me insane.  Part of the issue was that Alan refused (and continues to refuse) to tell me exactly how many notes are hidden, although he has promised to tell me when they've all been found.

By the end of last week, I had relaxed my search, and resigned myself to having to simply happen upon them naturally.  Thursday evening, I was preparing Alibi for a weekend alone (Alan and I went to Bass Lake with some friends).  Imagine my delight as I discovered not one, but two notes, attached to my ice pack to keep Alibi's wet food fresh, and the kitty litter box:

The ice pack was leaning in a way that I couldn't see the note, and I had two kitty litter boxes stacked on top of each other, such that I simply hadn't been looking at the bottom box when cleaning the litter box.  I thought, surely I have now found them all, and texted Alan to confirm, but his response made it clear that he wasn't kidding around:

Only [redacted] more to find!

Seriously, who redacts text messages?!  I spent a relaxing weekend reading books and doing crossword puzzles on the beach, but in the back of my mind, I was still trying to brainstorm more note locations.

Yesterday, I got home from work a little early, so I decided to clean my apartment.  I reached for a paper towel (which, apparently, I use quite sparingly), and discovered this:

My wet hands got the note a bit soggy.  Then, as I was taking the bag out of my little trash can, I found this waiting for me at the bottom:

I still have no idea how many sticky notes remain hidden in my apartment, but I'm growing more comfortable with the idea that I'll discover them in due course.  They are a wonderful little surprise that really brighten my day and make me feel loved.  Now, I just have to think up a good way to retaliate reciprocate.

-----

UPDATE:

Apparently, I also never use all four of my bowls!  I just spotted this (turned the other way in the cupboard) while working from home and making myself some lunch:

Alan informs me that this is the final sticky note that was hidden.  I'm definitely bowled over.

Summer Happenings

Drafts of four more posts about my trip to Japan sit in a folder, waiting patiently for me to finish them.  I want to post them, really I do, but I never seem to find the time.  And, meanwhile, lots of other things have been happening, with no posts!  So, here's a little summary of what's been going on...

Travel

Please, don't leave me!

I've had to travel for work quite a bit lately.  Four trips to Las Vegas in the past two months, along with trips to Fresno, Sacramento, and Omaha.  Indeed, I was traveling so much, that I had to give my poor cat back to my parents for a month!  The Las Vegas trips were all too packed with work to visit family or friends, let alone do many Vegas activities, but there was one night that my colleagues and I were able to sit at a cafe at Paris and watch the fountains at the Bellagio, which was beautiful.  And, one of our presentations was aired on local television, so I'm pretty much famous now.

There have also been a number of trips for fun with Alan.  We went to San Luis Obispo, Santa Catalina Island, and Paso Robles.  All three trips involved getting to know Alan's college friends better, which has been wonderful. I particularly enjoyed Catalina, which has an adorable golf cart parade for the 4th of July. And, I got to try snorkeling for the first time!

Hiking on Catalina.  No one was going to lose us, wearing those shirts.

At a wedding at the Mountain Winery.

Other Fun

In addition to traveling, the past couple of months has been full of hiking, parties, weddings, and good food.  Morgan threw a lovely Great Gatsby party, Alissa had an epic birthday party, and we threw a retro futurism themed Party of... THE FUTURE!  To paint a mental picture, because apparently I'm terrible at remembering to take real ones, think: silly tinfoil costumes, outer space tablecloths, and, of course, Tang.

Tasty, tasty oysters.

Robert and I went on a day trip to Santa Rosa that I really enjoyed. We grabbed oysters at Tamales Bay, ate them al fresco at a park, and then checked out the truly lovely Charles M. Schultz Museum. I definitely recommend checking it out if you're a Peanuts fan.

Mom came up to San Francisco a few weekends ago, which is always a treat.  We spent the day shopping, visiting my office and apartment, and eating a delicious lunch at the historic John's Grill.

Other fun lately included checking out the Maker Faire, learning how to make okonomiyaki, checking out the J-Pop summit in SF Japantown, playing Hobbit Scrabble, and attending an event with Mother Dolores Hart (the actress-turned-nun).

The Bar

No, this section isn't about all of the new drinking establishments I've checked out lately--although, I am rather impressed by the wine flights and lavender crème brûlée at First Crush, a little wine bar around the corner from my apartment.  Rather, I wanted to share that I was unsuccessful on the February administration of the California Bar Exam.  I did get the highest score I've gotten, only 12 points short of the passing score of 1440, which is rather frustrating.  I decided to take the summer off from studying, because, after four back-to-back attempts, I was starting to feel a little burned out.  I am really glad that I made that decision, and had my first real summer in years.  I'll be taking the exam again next February.  I'm not looking forward to it, but I'm grateful to have such wonderful friends and family to support me as I switch back into studying mode in the new year.

Reading

I've been doing a fair bit of reading lately.  I finally set up an account on GoodReads, and have been obsessive-compulsively documenting everything I've ever read.  Chris and I are still doing our wonderful weekly Catholic Skype chats; we recently finished The Autobiography of St. Therese, which wasn't nearly as insightful as I thought it was going to be, and certainly isn't as good as what we're now reading, City of God by St. Augustine.  I enjoyed Gulp by Mary Roach, disgusting though it was.  I joined a new book club, and we had a very interesting conversation about Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg--regardless of the critiques some may have of the book, I've found it to be a great launching off point for thoughtful conversations.  Alan and I have been discussing The Five Love Languages, which has been really interesting.  I love things like books and personality tests that help me to articulate the things I know about myself.  And, as has been the case for far too long now, I am still working my way through A Dance with Dragons.  There are so many more things that I want to read, but no time to read them!

Well, that's all for now.  Future posts to be shorter and more timely!

Japan: May 8, Fushimi-Inari, Gion, Kiyomizu, Heian, Ponto-cho, Highball

We woke up early to take the subway to Fushimi-Inari, an incredible temple with hundreds of torii (gates) forming a huge network of paths built into the mountainside. On our way to the train, we crossed the river using an adorable set of stepping stones, some of which are made to look like turtles. Way more fun than using the bridge, if a bit riskier.

Fushimi-Inari is known for its foxes. Fox sculptures were everywhere! I bought a cute little fox charm for good luck, and some rice crackers shaped like fox heads.

I really loved the orange of the torii, contrasted with the green of the mountain scenery. The torii are each individually maintained, so some look very new, while others are old and in need of a fresh coat of paint. The torii are so close to one another that it forms a tunnel pathway up the mountain, with little breaks here and there for snacks and small temples. We didn't have time to walk all the way to the top, but even from our vantage point, we got a great view of Kyoto.

For lunch, we headed over to an awesome curry place that Alan knows. There was a line out the door, and we had to wait for seats to open up at the counter. It was well worth the wait! Our curry had so many good vegetables, including asparagus and bamboo shoots.

We headed over to Gion, thinking we'd do a tea ceremony, but sadly the place we had picked out was closed on Wednesdays. Nonetheless, it was fun to walk around, and we saw the quintessential Gion sight: maiko riding in a rickshaw!

We walked to Kiyomizu-dera, yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site. We had decided by this point that our new hobby is World Heritage Site spotting. On our way up the crowded streets lined with shops, we stopped for green tea soft serve, which was delicious and a nice way to cool off.

Kiyomizu is nestled in the mountains, and offers breathtaking views of the city and of its main temple and pagoda. It is known for the Otowa-no- taki fountain with therapeutic waters for hand washing and drinking, and we partook. Alan had brought with him an old little charm he keeps on his bicycle for traffic safety, and traded it in for a new one, as well as giving me one for my bike. Definitely cannot hurt, biking in San Francisco!

We donated 100 yen so we could walk through the Tainai-miguri, a pitch black hall that you walk through, guided by following a rope of prayer beads in your left hand, as you contemplate the Daizuigu Bosatsu, whose womb you have figuratively entered. It was surreal to be in a place so dark that you cannot see your hand in front of your face.

From Kiyomizu, we went for a long, but leisurely walk to Heian-jingu, a shrine with a spacious courtyard and a gigantic torii. Along the way, we saw some other temples, a nice municipal park, and many more shops. The courtyard at Heian is all sand, and I enjoyed watching a groundskeeper methodically raking the sand as it neared closing time.

For dinner, we had plans to check out a tofu restaurant on Ponto-cho, a tiny street filled with dozens restaurants right along the river. We had some information about the restaurant written on a scrap of paper, but struggled to find it. We found another tofu restaurant recommended by my Lonely Planet Kyoto app, but tragically, it was closed on Wednesdays. We eventually asked an employee of another restaurant for directions to the first tofu place, and they kindly make a phone call for us and then even walked us to its location! For whatever reason, the tofu restaurant turned out to be a bar, so we again took to the street and wandered around until we found a restaurant on the river that did small plates. The fried pumpkin in miso chicken sauce was awesome, but most of the other dishes were just okay. It was a bit chilly out, but we sat outside on the deck, which gave us a beautiful view of the water.

After dinner, we checked out a bar called Highball so we could sit down and do some postcard writing. One of the only things I actively dislike about Japan is that smoking is still allowed indoors. It wasn't too terrible inside the bar, but once we left, we reeked of smoke. Nonetheless, there was something delightfully international about being in a Japanese bar, listening to American pop music, drinking a Moscow Mule.

Japan: May 7, Katsura, Tenryu-ji, bamboo grove, Kitano Tenman-gu, market streets, gyoza

For breakfast, we ate a selection of delicious pastries we had picked out at a bakery the night before. In a Japanese bakery, you pick up a tray and tongs, and pick out your own pastries. My favorite was an orange donut, followed closely by a pastry with chunks of apple and cheese.

We got an early start, because we had to be at Katsura by 9:50 am for our tour. Katsura is the imperial villa, kind of like a summer home for the emperor's family. It's actually easier to get a tour as a foreigner than as a Japanese tourist, and Alan's mom kindly set up the tour for us.

We took the subway to get there, my first time on it. So much nicer than BART! Green velvet seats, spacious, clean, on time, and generally civilized; I imagine this is what BART would be like if Caltrain ran it.

At Katsura, we filed into a room to watch a short video, and then were escorted into the garden. Our tour was in Japanese, but they provided English speakers with a headset to listen to recorded explanations. I wish I did understand Japanese, because our tour guide seemed to be cracking a lot of hilarious jokes not reciprocated by our dry, British lady in the audio tour.

The garden features a large pond and a number of tea houses. Our tour took us around the perimeter of the pond along a delightful stepping stone path. At the beginning of the garden, a pine tree was planted to block the view of the rest of the garden, so as to save some of the enjoyment for later, instead of seeing it all at once. The tea houses had places for viewing the moon, which is an amusingly specific use. I loved how green the garden was, with bursts of color here and there. It would be wonderful to come back other times of the year to see the garden in different seasons.

We hopped back on the subway to go to Tenryu-ji, the temple of the heavenly dragon. This World Heritage Site sits near the Katsura River, and the Arashiyama Mountains, which made for a breathtaking setting that is very different from the other temples we had seen so far. The gardens were wonderful for strolling through, with plenty of different plants and a lovely koi pond.

The temple is next to an incredible bamboo forest, which may have been one of my favorite things that I've seen. Bamboo is so tall! It was a windy day, and I loved the sound that the bamboo made as it swayed and bumped into each other, a hollow, resonant sound not unlike some wooden wind chimes. It was a peaceful place, and made me wish I had my own bamboo forest.

After stopping for a wonderful lunch of beef udon, we wondered around some shops for a bit, including a crazy shop that exclusively sells organic vegetable and savory flavored hard candy. Intrigued, we paid 500 yen to fill a bag with as many candies as we could fit. The flavors were chestnut,  pumpkin, spring onion, radish, carrot, black bean, and tomato. So far, I've tried the carrot; not only was it tasty, but also it reminded me fondly of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

Next, we traveled to Kitano Tenman-gu, a shrine that honors Sugawara Michizane, one of Alan's ancestors! The shrine has a number of statues of cows, and you rub the part of the cow's body that symbolizes the good luck you seek.

From there, we went to the market streets to do a bit of shopping. There was so much there... Fans, stationery, hashi, clothing, snacks, tea, tourist traps, high end stores, and even a 100 yen shop. I picked up a number of fun souvenirs and gifts.

After stopping by Obaachan's to rendezvous with Alan's mom, we walked over to Osho, a tiny, neighborhood gyoza shop run by a grumpy old man. This place is definitely not for tourists, or indecisive people, as the man typically demands your order immediately upon entering. We went late, and there was a bit of a lull, so the man was uncharacteristically chatty. Some students stopped in to do the gyoza challenge--30 gyoza and a large order of rice in under 10 minutes! They were not successful. If a student cannot afford a meal, the man lets them wash dishes for an hour to pay for as much as they can eat, which is awesome. It was definitely the best gyoza I've ever had.

Exhausted, we headed home to get some sleep before another full day in Kyoto.

Japan: May 6, Imperial Palace, Nijo-jo, Kinkaku-ji, Ryoan-ji, Kodai-ji

We woke up immensely refreshed. After bathing in Obaachan's old-school square tub with a shower head, we had a breakfast of coffee and Japanese toast, which is thick and fluffy, with butter and marmalade.

We left with Alan's mom to explore the grounds of the Imperial Palace, which is a short walk from Obaachan's house. The palace was a giant building with unassuming architecture. Only the size and the gilded details let you know this was no ordinary place. The palace was surrounded by wide, white gravel roads with light pedestrian and bike traffic. We saw beautiful 300-year old trees, a small shrine, and a pond with koi fish, and listened to Alan's mom's descriptions of growing up there, with the grounds as her playground.

From the palace, we walked to Nijo Castle. Along the way, we stopped at a vending machine, from which I purchased a green grape drink in a can that contained actual peeled grapes inside! At the castle, we met a few of the friends from dinner the night before. I was amazed by how cheap it was to get into the castle, at only 600 yen (about $6); admission to a similarly historic place in the United States would have cost four or five times that.

The castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and I can understand why. The Ninomaru is incredibly ornate, with different rooms only accessible by people of different rank. The palace is known for its nightingale floors, which make a delightful little squeaking noise as you walk, to alert the guards to intruders. As was the case at many places we visited, we were required to remove our shoes before entering. There was something extra-special about treading upon those floors barefoot, which made me feel more connected to the past.

The buildings are surrounded by beautiful gardens and a moat. The stone walls were fascinating, with giant stones kept together without mortar. There was a high viewing area, a wonderful vantage point for taking in the city. It was strange to be at a castle, yet surrounded by the anachronistic buildings of modern society.

After Nijo, Alan and I hopped on a bus with the most adorable day passes imaginable. We took the bus to Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Temple, which is aptly named. The temple is completely covered in gold leaf, with a bronze Phoenix on top. It is surrounded by water, which reflects the temple beautifully. I must say, the temple was a bit ostentatious for my taste, but nonetheless was incredible and worth seeing. I enjoyed walking though the surrounding gardens as well, with a tea house, ponds, and many places to thrown coins for good luck.

From Kinkaku-ji, we took a short bus ride to Ryoan-ji, a World Heritage Site with the most famous hira-niwa rock garden. We were fortunate enough to be there when it was not very crowded, so we were able to sit in the front row of the viewing platform for some quiet contemplation of the garden, which has fifteen carefully arranged dark rocks amid a sea of white, raked sand, surrounded by a wall of boiled clay. I really liked the rock garden because it was peaceful, ordered, and beautiful. I also enjoyed the large pond, with gorgeous wisteria trees in full blossom reflecting off the water. Of course, none of this stopped me from disobeying the polite little sign we ran across...

After a delicious dinner of omelet rice, we took a cab to Kodai-ji to catch the final night of the temple light-ups. During the spring, a number of temples open at night with lanterns and lights placed throughout their garden to show off the beautiful trees in a different way. It was gorgeous, especially when the light was playing off the water and making the green of the Japanese maple trees so vibrant.

I nearly fell asleep on the bus ride back to Obaachan's house. It was a long, jam packed day of exploration, and I couldn't wait for more!

Japan: May 4-5, Flight to Japan

After months of planning our trip to Japan--or, as Alan and I came to call it, Japlanning--we finally took our trip during the second week of May!  I'll be posting a separate blog post for each day of our adventure, based on journaling I did during the trip.

Alan came over Friday night so that we could leave together for SFO bright and early. We ordered a pizza from Escape from NY, and decided that, to be proactive about jet lag, we would stay up all night, and then sleep on the plane, because take off was at 6 am, or 10 pm Japan time.  So, we spent the night watching Firefly, playing cards, and generally waiting with baited breath for our taxi to arrive at 4 am.

Our flight schedule was a bit silly. We had a great deal on our Delta flight, but we had to fly from SF to LA, and then back up to Seattle before we could catch our flight to Osaka. We were nervous on our LA to Seattle flight, because the plane took off late due to a mechanical problem that had to be fixed, but we made it with a half hour to spare.

The flight to Osaka wasn't half bad. The plane was huge, a 767 with seats for over 250 people, high ceilings, and plenty of leg room for someone short like me. We tried to sleep until morning time in Japan, but it was difficult to get deep sleep with the noise of the plane, and the excitement of our journey. I hadn't told the airline about Alan being a vegetarian in time (they require 10 days' notice, which is absurd), but fortunately the flight attendant repurposed a little food from first class to put together a meal for him.

To pass the time, we watched the third Batman movie, which was really dark, but excellent. We also played Scrabble (I lost, by a lot), played with our little touch screen consoles, and did a crossword puzzle. Other than that, we chatted, ate food, napped, and gazed out of the window expectantly.

We arrived in Osaka ahead of schedule, and stopped in at the restroom before heading to customs. All of the toilets in the women's room were bidets! I didn't try it out... There were a lot of buttons, and it was all in Japanese. I'm just glad I figured out how to flush.

Customs was easy. I was half-expecting them to ask a bunch of questions, but they just took my fingerprints, a photo, and did the necessary paperwork. We exited the airport to bright sunshine and gorgeous weather in the 70s, and I enjoyed my first vending machine beverage, a small can of Boss cafe au lait, while we waited for our bus (a.k.a., airport limousine) to Kyoto.

The bus was nice, like a chartered bus you'd see in the United States. I enjoyed being able to see some of the city as we drove for 90 minutes, and remarked upon the eclectic layout of the city--apartment buildings next to factories with smoke stacks, next to golf driving ranges, next to single family homes.

We arrived at Kyoto station feeling sleepy, but excited. We found a cab, and Alan explained where we were going; Obaachan's house is near the Imperial Palace, but doesn't really have a house number. The cab driver took us through a number of narrow streets to get there, my first glimpse close-up of the streets of Kyoto.

"Koko, koko!" Alan said suddenly to the cab driver, pointing to a small, two-story house. We were here! We rang the doorbell, and Alan's mom greeted us at the door. Obaachan's tiny face peeked out from the doorway, smiling and greeting us, as we took off our shoes and wiped down the dusty wheels of our luggage before entering.

Obaachan, and her house, reminded me strongly of my paternal grandmother, Nana. Obaachan made us green tea, and we ate mochi wrapped in bamboo leaves, to bring us good luck on Children's Day. Obaachan was warm, with kind eyes and a laugh that put me at ease despite our language barrier.

After settling in a bit, Alan and I left with Alan's mom to have dinner with some of her friends. There were eight of us; I was the only one who didn't speak Japanese, but they did a nice job of trying to include me, and I could pick up a number of things through context. The meal itself was a feast. Plate after plate of food came out from the tiny kitchen window next to our table: three different types of bamboo shoots (in season, and as tender as artichoke hearts), squid, sashimi, salad, tofu, squishy stuff on a small skewer, and at least ten other items I cannot remember.

The group complemented me on my good use of hashi, but I undermined their praise when I dropped half of a piece of steamed sweet potato in just the right way to cause a toothpick-sized skewer resting on the edge of my plate to launch into the air and ricochet off of Alan's mom. Thankfully, everyone found it hilarious instead of mortifying, but that didn't stop me from turning bright red!

The meal, while delicious and with entertaining company, lasted for several hours, which was exhausting for a jet-lagged traveller. Alan and I were practically falling asleep at the table when the meal finally ended, and Alan's mom took us home. We climbed up the steep staircase to the second floor, where our beds were, and fell asleep at once, elated by the promise of tomorrow, our first full day in Kyoto.

Embroidered Handkerchiefs

One of the (many, many) things I find endearing about my boyfriend is that he carries a handkerchief.  To me, a handkerchief is symbolic of a civilized gentleman and of general preparedness.  So, when Valentine's Day rolled around this year, I decided to embroider him a few handkerchiefs.

I ordered a set of colorful handkerchiefs on Amazon, and was a little disappointed with their quality; they weren't very evenly cut.  I used some creative folding and ironing techniques to mask the irregularities, but would have been happier with some straight lines!

For each handkerchief, I did a lot of searching on Pinterest and Google Images to look at examples of the ideas I had in my head.  For some of them, I just stitched without a pattern, but for others, I held the handkerchief up to my computer monitor and traced a little pattern in pencil directly onto the handkerchief using the image shining through.

My first embroidery attempt was a classic monogram inspired by this photo on Pinterest, using some fun variegated embroidery floss.  I think if I were to do it again, I'd stitch the horizontal line of the "A" using a vertical stitch so it's a little more solid.

Next, because Alan is a bibliophile, I stitched him a little book based on this.  I like the way the pages look, all fanned out, and the green is a fun contrast to the purple.

Then, because he is an avid biker, I stitched a bicycle.  Initially, I thought I was going to stitch a thicker bike frame, but I ended up changing my mind, so one part of the frame is a little funky--or, as I like to think of it, has character.

Finally, and my personal favorite, I stitched our initials carved into a tree (inspired by this).

Continuing the theme of creative, thoughtful, homemade Valentine's Day gifts, Alan baked me some delicious and adorable chocolate hazelnut "Scrabble tiles" that spelled out my name:

All in all, I was pretty happy with how this project turned out.  It was nice to branch out from cross-stitch, which can be a little more labor-intensive and less varied in style.  I look forward to expanding my repertoire of stitches; for this project, I relied primarily on the back stitch (this link goes to a blog with excellent tutorials).

In the Pursuit of Pursuits

I was chatting with Alan last night about how long it's been since I last blogged.  For the most part, this blog has served the purpose of updating folks about my life.  However, I haven't felt much like posting for two reasons:

1. Facebook tends to satisfy my "sharing about my life" fix through little posts of photos and check-ins.
2. I see so many of the readers of this blog on a regular basis that I often feel like I'm "preempting" myself when I want to share with them the story of an event I've already posted.

Last night, we were also discussing what sorts of hobbies* or pursuits we'd like to take up in our lives.  I really enjoy the many facets of my life right now, but I would like to be more intentional about pursuing some side projects, learning some new things, and generally becoming a more well-rounded individual.

So, I think the nature of this blog may shift.  First off, I'll start posting more than every couple of months.  But, more significantly, I'll be talking less about the day-to-day updates, and focus more on the  novel pursuits in my life.

Here are some ideas that I may decide to pursue:

• Embroidery/cross-stitch
• Photography
• Yoga
• Cooking
• Exploring San Francisco
• Learning about wine
• Biking

To be posted soon: a fun little embroidery project that I completed in February.

What are the pursuits in your life that make you happy or fulfilled?  What would you like to take up?

*Have you ever looked up hobbies on Wikipedia?  Well, I have, and it's a pretty fascinating list.  For example, did you know that bus spotting was a thing?

A Lenten Commit-meat

Happy Mardi Gras, faithful readers!

Enveloped in a busy couple of months of setting up my new apartment, fervent grant writing, and dutiful studying for the bar exam, I confess I have neglected my dear blog.  So, I thought I'd stop in and offer a few reflections as I prepare for this season of Lent.

This year, I have decided to give up meat.  The last time I gave up meat for Lent was my freshman year of college.  It was a significant experience for me on a number of levels.  Spiritually, I had a reminder multiple times per day of my dependence on God.  Personally, I learned a lot about nutrition and how to make healthy choices for myself.  Deliciously, I discovered hummus.

After going 40 days without meat, I didn't feel a particular desire to become a vegetarian, but it did challenge my childhood conditioning that a meal has to be centered around meat.  To this day, I don't eat very much meat--probably most often when I go out to eat, or am home with my family.

An additional inspiration for giving up meat this year is my boyfriend, Alan, who is a vegetarian.  (Hi, Alan!)  We've been sharing a lot of meals, even cooking some together, so it will dovetail nicely, providing me with some extra encouragement.

I will also be taking on some spiritual practices during Lent.  I plan on praying the Rosary each evening, because my prayer life has been a little lackluster lately.  I also want to read at least one of the Catholic books sitting on my shelf--possibly The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything by Fr. James Martin.  You might recognize the name if you're a regular viewer of The Colbert Report, as Fr. Jim is the chaplain of the Colbert nation.  Indeed, he was on the program just last night, discussing the resignation of the Pope:

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What are you giving up for Lent?